Australia's Jurassic Tree (Wollemi Pine) Is Returned To The World

[WhistlingJack]

Australia's Jurassic tree is returned to the world

By Kathy Marks in Sydney

Published: 14 October 2005

The Wollemi pine, a Jurassic-age plant believed extinct until a hiker stumbled across a grove near Sydney 11 years ago, is being relaunched into the world.

To ensure its survival, Australian conservationists have propagated large numbers and plan to auction the next generation at Sotheby's later this month, with species being touted as the latest must-have garden accessory.

The Wollemi was known only from fossil records until David Noble, a park ranger, found the small stand in the Blue Mountains, 125 miles (200km) west of Sydney, in 1994. He did not recognise them and took home a branch to show colleagues.

His discovery caused a scientific sensation, being called the botanical find of the century. The species had been thought extinct for at least two million years.

The director of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, Professor Carrick Chambers, said at the time that it was "the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur still alive on Earth".

With just 100 specimens in the wild, the Wollemi is one of the world's rarest tree species. It is also one of the oldest, with origins that date back 200 million years. Now several hundred saplings, grown from cuttings taken from the original plants, are to be auctioned to fund future conservation efforts.

The first generation cultivated trees were presented yesterday at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Up to six years old and 2.5m (8ft) high, they are being sold with authentication certificates detailing their provenance, as well as care instructions. In the wild, they grow to up to 40 metres high, with a trunk diameter of more than a metre.

The auction also aims to help conserve the species. Horticulturalists believe that having Wollemi pines in homes, parks and gardens is one of the best forms of insurance against loss in the wild.

The chairman of Sotheby's Australia, Justin Millar, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the pines were "among the most exciting things I've ever sold". He said international collectors were likely to join the bidding. "There's been a lot of interest from Germany and the United Kingdom, certainly Japan, America."

The pines were found growing in a rainforest gorge surrounded by mountains and undisturbed forest. Their exact location has been kept secret, to shield them from thieves and trophy hunters. No roads lead to the area, and even scientists are blindfolded when flown into the site by helicopter.

Propagated plants are already on display around Australia and abroad, including the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and at Kew in London. The pines are expected to fetch from £640 apiece, to £22,000 for a collection of trees. Next year they will be widely available as pot plants.

© 2005 Independent News & Media (UK) Ltd

 

[rynner2]

'Dinosaur trees' heavily guarded

Thousands of rare baby "dinosaur" trees have been placed under 24-hour security to protect them before they go on sale.
Around 15,000 Wollemi Pine - a tree once thought to have become extinct more than two million years ago - are thriving in a greenhouse in Cornwall.

The trees, which were discovered in a secret location near Sydney in 1994, are now being grown at Kernock Park Plants nursery in Saltash.

The "crown jewels" of botany are set to feature at the Chelsea Flower show.

Horticultural expert Tony Russell, who is helping to arrange the Jurassic exhibit, said the discovery of the Wollemi Pine - a fern-like evergreen tree - was "like finding a living dinosaur".

Ice age

The trees, discovered by New South Wales national parks and wildlife officer David Noble, are said to be the botanical find of the century.

"They are the crown jewels of the botanical world," Mr Russell said.

Before the discovery was made in a now secret and protected location, the only known examples of the tree were fossils dating back 175 million years.

To save the trees from extinction Wollemi Pine International is spearheading a project to raise saplings from the trees in the wild and make them commercially available across the world.

The money raised will help to protect the secret location from outsiders, as well as fund a research programme to establish how the tree has managed to survive 17 Ice Ages.

The owner of Kernock Plants, Richard Harnett, said in six months, at the end of the Chelsea Show, Wollemi Pines would be available for people to buy for the first time.

It is hoped that this will reduce the risk of uncontrolled exploitation.

The Wollemi Pine can grow up to 130ft (39.6m) high in the wild, with a trunk diameter of more than 3ft (91cm) and can survive temperatures as low as minus 45C (133F).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6201616.stm

...which is nice!

 

[rynner2]

Yesterday I visited the Eden Project, and saw one of these trees for real -
which was nice!

It wasn't 'heavily-guarded' though - I could have ripped it out of the ground and put it in my pocket - if I'd had a VERY large pocket!

(It was a spur of the moment decision to go to Eden, and I'd forgotten all about my post above until I saw the tree. BTW, Eden is well worth a visit, even if, like me you're not into botany or gardening: the biomes themselves are fascinating, in the way they seem to glow with reflections of the sky, and there are other architectural and artistic designs to see too.)

 

[OneWingedBird]

was it much to write home about? i mean, did it look like a jurassic tree, or just, um, generally tree like?

 

[rynner2]

was it much to write home about? i mean, did it look like a jurassic tree, or just, um, generally tree like?

Well, the size it is now, I'd say more bush-like!

Judge for yourself:

Can you see a baby dinosaur peeping out from behind it...?




No, neither can I!

 

[GNC]

I thought they were all ferns in those days? Is this a tree-like fern? Or a fern-like tree?

 

[EnolaGaia]

The last known surviving stand of Wollemi Pines was targeted for special protection during the massive wildfires.

Australia firefighters save world’s only rare dinosaur trees

Specialist firefighters have saved the world’s last remaining wild stand of a prehistoric tree from wildfires that razed forests west of Sydney, officials said Thursday.

Firefighters winched from helicopters to reach the cluster of fewer than 200 Wollemi Pines in a remote gorge in the Blue Mountains a week before a massive wildlife bore down, National Parks and Wildlife Service Director David Crust said.

The firefighters set up an irrigation system to keep the so-called dinosaur trees moist and pumped water daily from the gorge as the blaze that had burned out of control for more than two month edged closer.

Firefighting planes strategically bombed the fire front with fire retardant to slow its progress.

“That helped just to slow the intensity of the fire as it approached the site,” Crust told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“The Wollemi Pine is a particularly important species and the fact that this is the only place in the world where they exist and they exist in such small numbers is really significant,” he added.

New South Wales state Environment Minister Matt Kean said the operation had saved the stand, although some plants had been singed.

“These pines outlived the dinosaurs, so when we saw the fire approaching we realized we had to do everything we could to save them,” Kean said. ...

The Wollemi Pine had only been seen in its fossilized form and was thought long extinct before the stand was found in 1994. ...

FULL STORY (With Video): https://apnews.com/3566ab33b140372eaa1c8c61abbb5b06